Partnership Manager

Bank of New Zealand; Auckland; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Wellbeing support

Career development

Job summary

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is seeking a Partnership Manager to join the Wealth, Insurance & Product Governance team in Auckland. The role focuses on managing external partner relationships to meet BNZ customers’ needs across wealth and insurance products.

You will advocate for the customer, turning insights into prioritized improvements and value creation. This Auckland-based, hybrid role requires collaboration with internal teams and external partners to oversee daily operations, resolve

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in financial services with wealth and/or insurance exposure.
• Experience handling customer complaints and remediation processes.
• Strong understanding of insurance or wealth products and related processes.
• Experience in operational risk management.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing abilities.

Responsibilities

• Be BNZ’s face in key partner forums and maintain day-to-day relationships.
• Monitor service standards and escalate issues early to stay ahead.
• Use customer insights to identify improvements and drive value for customers.
• Act as escalation point for complaints or breakdowns and lead remediation.
• Ensure regulatory obligations, risk practices, and reporting are met.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Operational risk

Wealth/Insurance knowledge

Customer complaints

Remediation processes

Job description

Worker Type:

Permanent

Here at BNZ, it’s about more than just banking. We work together in an agile, energising environment to create innovative solutions through our promise “If you can imagine a better future, let’s find a way.”

We support wellbeing, flexible working and have a generous leave offering. There is the opportunity for growth, learning and career development. No two days are the same.

We have an opportunity for a Partnership Manager to join our Wealth, Insurance & Product Governance team and be responsible for managing and optimizing relationships with external partners to meet the diverse needs of BNZ customers across Wealth and Insurance products. You will work with the Partnerships team to be the voice of the Customer ensuring insights, trends and improvements are being prioritized to deliver BNZ’s ambition of market leading expertise.

This is an Auckland based role and is a hybrid role with three days in the office per week.

Mō te Tūranga | About the Role

We sat down with our Head of Wealth & Insurance - Partnerships and Proposition, and they let us know the following about the role.

What are 5 day to day tasks the person in this role will complete?

• Be BNZ’s face in key partner forums, building strong day‑to‑day relationships and helping keep everyone aligned on what matters most for customers.
• Keep a close eye on how BNZ and our partners are tracking against service standards and call out / escape issues early so we stay ahead of them.
• Use customer insights, experience data and “what we’re hearing” to pinpoint what needs improving, and work with partners to lift outcomes and value for customers.
• Step in as the escalation point when things go wrong, complaints, disputes, or breakdowns in service and lead remediation across BNZ and partners through to a clean outcome.
• Make sure the basics are rock solid, risk practices and regulatory obligations are met, and reporting is delivered in line with partner and internal commitments.

What is the most exciting thing about this opportunity?

The most exciting aspect of this role is the opportunity to be the voice of the customer and the go‑to lead for day‑to‑day partnership operations across BNZ’s wealth and insurance portfolio.

Sitting at the centre of relationships, performance, and customer outcomes, the role works closely with internal teams and external partners to manage daily operations, resolve issues, and continuously look ahead—identifying improvement opportunities that help partners meet and exceed customer expectations. With strong visibility across BNZ and partner organisations, this role has genuine influence in shaping service quality, strengthening relationships, and ensuring customer outcomes remain front and centre in how partnerships operate.

What is the most challenging thing about this opportunity?

The challenge lies in balancing partner relationship management with firm performance and risk expectations, particularly when leading escalations or remediation activity.

The role requires sound judgement to navigate complex situations, align internal and external stakeholders, and manage competing priorities, while maintaining a strong focus on customer outcomes, regulatory obligations, and service standards. Identifying and responding to issues early, before they escalates, is critical.

What will success look like for the candidate in this role?

Success will be reflected in strong, trusted partner relationships that consistently deliver good customer outcomes.

The candidate will proactively monitor service performance, interpret customer experience insights, and surface risks or issues early - working with partners and BNZ teams to resolve them effectively. Reporting will be clear and action‑oriented, escalations will be well‑managed, and partners will feel supported and constructively challenged to lift performance.

Ultimately, success looks like improved customer experiences, stronger partner accountability, and BNZ being seen as a confident, collaborative partner that puts customers at the centre of every decision.

What specific skills would be beneficial?

We are looking for proven experience in financial services, including significant wealth and or insurance experience (5+ years). You will also bring:

• Previous experience working with customer complaints and remediation processes.
• A strong understand of insurance products and claim processes and or Wealth products and processes.
• Previous experience in operational risk management
• Deep stakeholder engagement and influencing skills - you will be able to work with a range of stakeholders to create collaborative working relationships with and across partnerships.

Nau Mai ki te Pēke o Aotearoa | Come to the Bank of New Zealand

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, nanging he toa takitini” - Success is not the work of an individual, but the work of many.”

Closing Date: 15 November 2026

Applications will be reviewed regularly across the advertising period, but we do reserve the right to close applications early.